LONG BEACH – With five newcomers playing extensively, the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team had some wobbly moments during its season-opening matches Friday at the Walter Pyramid.

But volleyball, like every other sport and competitive endeavor in this wide world of ours, is a bottom-line entity.

With that in mind, the 49ers were a smashing success after leaving the building with 3-1 and 3-0 victories over the University of San Francisco and Indiana.

The four-team, round-robin event being held entirely at the Pyramid wraps today with Missouri State taking on Indiana at 11 a.m., the Hoosiers returning to face San Francisco at 5 p.m. and the 49ers taking on Missouri State in a finale scheduled to start at 7 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the IU-USF match.

Outside hitter Quincy Verdin, a first-team all-Big West Conference selection as a junior, led the 49ers with 13 kills in the 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20 victory over the USF Dons.

Then, seven hours later, it was a couple of freshmen, Caitlin Ledoux and Cat Highmark, with nine kills apiece, who helped the 49ers knock off the Hoosiers, 25-19, 25-20, 25-21.

As he anticipated, Coach Brian Gimmillaro’s 24th Long Beach team struggled at times with its offensive fluidity while demonstrating what he believes is its biggest shortcoming at the moment: unsure blocking.

But the 49ers, with Iris Murray, Ashley Lee and Ledoux leading the way, were consistently outstanding defensively while overcoming their offensive sluggishness.

“We showed why we need to improve so much as blockers,” Gimmillaro said. “But, at times, we played very good defense.”

Murray had a combined 33 digs with Ledoux and Lee producing 21 apiece.

Ledoux and fellow freshman Cat Highmark had impressive college debuts for the 49ers earlier Friday afternoon while collecting 12 kills apiece in the 49ers’ victory over the Dons.

Nicole Vargas, beginning her fourth season as Long Beach’s setter, had 45 assists and also played well defensively with 13 digs while adding her team’s only service ace.

Junior Naomi Washington was strong at the net as a starting middle blocker, assisting on four blocks while adding 11 kills with just three hitting errors (for a .364 percentage).

Ledoux demonstrated why she was rated one of the country’s top outside hitters at Serrano High in Phelan, while adding 13 digs and three assists, and showing her athleticism at the net with two solos blocks and assisting on two others.

Highmark was the Player of the Year in Arizona (at Chaparral High in Paradise Valley) as a setter last season but – with Vargas, one of the nation’s best, in a Long Beach uniform – has moved to hitter to get her onto the floor.

She added seven digs and had just three hitting errors.

A couple of hours after losing to the 49ers, the Dons hooked up with Missouri State.

USF, 17-13 a year ago while finishing in fifth place in the West Coast Conference, cruised past the Bears in the first two games, 25-16, 25-12.

Missouri State, which faces Indiana at 11 a.m. this morning before facing the 49ers, was much sharper after the intermission. Behind junior outside hitter Sara Staubach (who finished with 15 kills), the Bears pulled out the third and fourth games, 25-20 and 25-23. But the Dons regrouped to pull out the decisive game, 15-9.

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